


Secret Rescue

by Moooomoo



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, MEZZO'', mezzo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-25
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-07-17 10:17:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16093619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moooomoo/pseuds/Moooomoo
Summary: Tamaki was kidnapped and Sougo and Nagi are taking the matter into their own hands to find him.No romantic relationships of any kind but it's focused on MEZZO'''s relationship (I love those two too much they give me life).Set during arc 3 (game) around chapter 10 but not tied to plot, this is mostly for characters relationships status.





	Secret Rescue

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: English is NOT my first language. I apology for the way it's written (kinda dull) and all the mistakes! Also, I kept the Japanese honorifics because every characters use them differently and it add a lot to the dialogues in my opinions.  
> Setting: this is around chapter 10 of arc 3. It’s not really set at an exact timing, it just really need to be before chapter 11 and get as much MEZZO’’ development as was available then. I could have tied it to arc 3 more specifically but I thought that story while reading arc 2 so I didn’t feel like forcing more connections (like involving Tsukumo Pro).
> 
> Also it's my first fic in 12 years and the first time I write something so long in English, so please go easy on me XD. If you like it please tell me it'll make me suuuper happy ///

Sougo had this nagging feeling inside his guts since he woke up, but he couldn’t say why. Everything was going fine lately, so there really was no need to worry. However, no matter how much he tried to calm himself, it just wouldn’t go away.

He tried to go over the schedule of the evening to come to ease his mind once again. MEZZO’’ had a shooting job, and it’s been a while since the last one so he was really looking forward to it. Tamaki should be home any minute now, but they still had an hour to spare before they had to leave so everything would---

A door closed in the background and Iori announced himself as he took off his shoes. Sougo headed right away to the living room to great the two students of the group, but stopped short when he only saw the Izumi brother.

“Welcome back Iori-kun!... Tamaki-kun isn’t with you?”

The two of them usually went back and forth to school together when their work schedule wasn’t interfering with it, which shouldn’t have been the case today.

“Yotsuba-san? Weren’t you guys together? He wasn’t at school today…” Following Sougo puzzled look, he went on with an explanation as he put down the mail he picked up on his way in. “I left early this morning because I had something to do to help a classmate, and then right before school I got a text from Yotsuba-san telling me he wouldn’t come because he had important MEZZO’’ interview with you... I just assumed he forgot to tell me beforehand, it wouldn’t be the first time.”

“What? No, the work of this morning was me alone… and our MEZZO’’ work together was only tonight so I haven’t seen him all day….”

Ok, that was becoming really weird. Tamaki wasn’t a school-guy, but he never skipped school… or at least hadn’t tried in a very long while. Before any of them could add anything, Mitsuki and Nagi arrived from the other side of the room. They were watching some TV with Yamato and Riku and picked up the conversation they had overheard.

“Tamaki? That’s weird, Nagi woke him up this morning and he left in time for school though”, Mitsuki answered while looking through the mail. All the fan mail was directly addressed to the agency and handled by Tsumugi, but sometimes they still got some letters directly to their dorm address.

“ _OH_! How very strange….” Added Nagi, who took his role of waking up Tamaki very seriously when it was his turn. “Could he have remembered the job only on his way to school?”

“N-no, he’s been very diligent with work lately, he wouldn’t forget such a thing… beside I went over his schedule with him 2 days ago and I’m sure he didn’t have anything today before tonight.”

His gut feeling kept getting worse, and he could feel the panic starting to rise. Now that they knew where Aya was, the chances of Tamaki suddenly running around on his own were pretty low, but when Aya was involved he didn’t exactly think straight, so he could just have---

“Oh Sougo, you got mail! Uh, that’s weird… it looks like Tamaki’s handwriting?”

Before he could even think about what it could mean, Sougo snapped the envelope from Mitsuki’s hands and briefly looked at it –it really was Tamaki’s handwriting! Messy and written in a hurry though– before opening it aggressively.

“ _OH_ , what is that Sougo?”

“….is that hair?” asked Iori as his picked up something on the floor.

“!!! That’s…. that’s Tamaki-kun’s hair!” Sougo said in a panicked voice, as Iori, startled, let the hair he picked fall back on the table.

There weren’t much hair to begin with, but these few light blue strands of hair that felt out of the envelope as it pulled out what was inside were unmistakably Tamaki’s. A couple were still sticking on the CD case Sougo was now holding with shaking hands. Without even thinking much anymore, Sougo ran to the TV, were the rest of the group was enjoying a TV show since earlier, oblivious to the conversation on-going. This was where the nearest DVD player was and he needed it right now. Without even hearing Yamato’s complain, he just frankly opened the DVD player and pushed the DVD inside.

“Sougo! What’s going on? What’s that?” asked Riku, realizing immediately something was wrong with his behavior.

“Sou, if you want to watch a DVD it’s fine but you could ask us before if—“

Yamato’s comment was cut short by the DVD’s video, which started right away. A silence fell instantly on the room. All the group was now gathered in front of the TV following Sougo’s rush.

A men wearing a black ski mask appeared in a close up on the screen. It seemed he just turned the camera on and was now backing up a bit, still occupying most of the frame.

“MEZZO”’s Ousaka Sougo? We have a message for you.”

Half of the group just turned to look at Sougo, that was now white as a sheet and looking like he was about to faint.

“If you want to see your partner again, you have one week to get 150 millions of yens ready.”

“Wha---?! Is this a bad joke??” weakly reacted Riku. You could tell he didn’t believe it his own words though, as he was getting whiter by the second as well.

“We know you’re the FSC heir, so you can definitely have this money ready quickly.” The masked man continued in a rasped voice, before starting to get away from the camera.

It seemed someone was sitting in a chair behind him, the head down and his face not visible from the camera angle.

“…! That hair!”

Just as Sougo realized who was sitting in the chair and that his last doubts were gone, the masked man grabbed the boy's head by the hair and forced him to look up.

Yamato’s beer can just dropped and spilled on the floor while everyone just screamed Tamaki’s name at once.

“If you don’t want us to damage his pretty face, then you’re better hurry. If we hear about this on the news, or if we hear the police coming, or if the money doesn’t come… then he might just get some pretty _nasty_ scars. Or maybe lose an eye, I’m not sure yet.” continued the masked man, waving a knife just millimeters away from Tamaki’s face. The camera did a close up on the young boy’s face as the man talked, and you could see his eyes full of fear and tears just following the knife movements. He was gagged, and his movements seemed restrained. The kidnapper kept holding him by the hair so he would have to look up straight into the camera.

“Wouldn’t it be a shame for an idol to lose a pretty eye like this?? Right??”

Tamaki just closed his eyes and let the tears run down while Sougo’s heart broke a bit more. No one was saying a word in the living room, too stunned as they were, but you could feel the tension would break in a matter of seconds. The masked man face suddenly took the whole frame again.

“You have one week. One. Week. Nothing more. We’ll send you more instructions later as to how to give us the money.”

And then that was it. The screen cut to black and there was nothing more but a deadly silence and the shocked faces of everyone. Sougo just wanted to throw up. But at the same time, his blood was burning like never before. How could they?! How DARED THEY?!

Everyone started to talk, or more like panic, at the exact same time, but Sougo didn’t even make out what they were saying. He had to find Tamaki! Right now!

“---! –go ! SOUGO!!”

Eventually, he realized that they were screaming his name and that he was crushing the remote control of the DVD player so hard his knuckles were white. Everyone was freaking out but Nagi, that looked deadly serious and muttering under his breath. The members kept arguing between each other. Should they call the police? Should they call their manager? What should they do?

“We need to call the police right now!!!”

“NO WE CAN’T! They’ll hurt Tamaki!” said Riku in a panicked voice, crying. Iori was trying to calm him down so he wouldn't have an attack.

“Let’s call the manager--”

“But what can she do? Wouldn’t she just call the police anyway?”

“I don’t know but we must let her know anyway”

“I say we just find this bastard ourselves!!”

“And how do you expect us to do so, Nii-san?!”

“I mean he’s alone right? And there are seven of u---…. I mean six of us!!”

“ _NO_.”

Strangely enough, it was Nagi’s reaction that made they all stop talking at once.

“He’s not alone, that video alone proves it. He got someone to do that close up at the end. And his eyes kept looking up behind the camera from time to time, and at least twice to his left. So we can assume they’re at least 3 people… Which could explain how they managed to get Tamaki in the first place. They probably tricked him anyway, but he’s big and strong enough to defend himself if it was only one person.”

He looked at Sougo straight in the eyes. “Plus, I’m sure they’re armed. I saw a gun in his pocket when he moved, and he had this… knife. I’m not sure he knows how to use them properly, but some weapons can do enough damage even wield by amateurs so it’s not to be taken lightly.”

“Oi Nagi… how can you even tell all this from this video..?” nervously asked Mitsuki.

With a sad smile, Nagi shook his head. “This is not the point, Mitsuki. But we need to tell Manager. We can’t hide something like this from her. She and Banri-san would ask too quickly where Tamaki is. Doesn’t he has work tonight anyway? Banri-san should be here any minute now…”

Work? How could they talk about work? Tamaki was somewhere, alone, hurting and scared and he was here doing nothing. Sougo felt like something was broken inside of him. The fear and the anger were mixing up together and he could barely think straight. Should he goes to his father to ask for the money? Would he even give it to him…? He hadn’t spoken to him since he got disowned 2 years ago, and going back begging for money wasn’t how he planned to settle things with his family one day. Moreover, knowing his dad he would probably just take the chance to tell him “I told you so!”…

And despite that. If he needed to beg his father on his knees and give up on being an idol to protect Tamaki, he wouldn’t hesitate in a heartbeat, he knew it. But he could never ever forgive the bastard that kidnapped his friend.

Looking down, Sougo saw he was actually on his knees and wasn’t holding the remote control anymore. He picked up the DVD from the player, then stood up and went to his room without a word or a look for anyone. He needed to think. He was barely listening to the others in the first place, but as soon as he felt their gaze on him, he couldn’t stand it anymore.

The first thing he did once in his room was watch this DVD again. This was torture and he could feel his heart being stabbed with pain every time, but he needed to do it again. And again. And again. Wasn’t this face strangely familiar? The ski mask was really hiding most of the face, and even the eyes were barely visible through the video quality, but there was something… He was so close to find out who this was, he was sure of it.

He got interrupted by a knock on his door. The others tried to come in earlier but he refused to open to anyone.

“Sougo? It’s me.” That was Nagi’s voice. “I think I know who did this.” He sounded dead serious and it was obvious he wasn’t joking… or lying his way in.

The door opened in a second. A couple of minute later, they were both sitting in front of the TV again, but this time watching a very different DVD.

“This is the footage of this afternoon from the security cameras we installed the other month, when we got that stalker situation… Tamaki was abducted this morning. Which mean they had to manually put this letter in the mailbox, it couldn’t have been posted. And here, around 3:30pm….”

Nagi froze the picture on a man wearing a hat, definitely putting something in the mailbox. The quality wasn’t great, and the angle hide most of the face that he kept hanging low on purpose, but this was enough for Sougo to connect the dots.

“This is Tamaki-kun’s father?!”

“ _YES_ … I think there is no mistake about it. You can see a bit of his hair sticking out of the hat, and his size matches as well what we saw of him in that studio that day.”

“How…. How could he??? His own son?!” Sougo was so upset he could barely process the thought. “He already ruined so much of his life, wasn’t it enough for him???”

The eyes of the foreigner just got even darker.

“Money… people would do terrible things just for money.”

Indeed… Tsumugi told Sougo a while ago that Tamaki’s father contacted the agency on a few occasions, asking if he could get some money from Tamaki, as his “last legal guardian”. They had to explain to him every time that he wasn’t his guardian anymore and hadn’t been in a long time, and had to threaten to fill a lawsuit against his presence near Tamaki if he would continue. They thought it did the trick, as they didn’t hear from him again after that, except for one drunk phone call. But apparently, he just switched to some more extreme methods…

Sougo looked Nagi in the eyes and finally felt the tears coming through. Now that it started, he couldn’t hold them back anymore.

“N-nagi-kun…”

“ _YES_. I’m here.” His answered, holding him very gently in his arms.

“He’s…. Tamaki-kun… He’s afraid of the dark….”

Out of all the things he could have said, strangely that’s the one that came out. He couldn’t stop himself from imagining Tamaki alone and scared in the dark, and it was killing him.

“I know. We’ll save him Sougo. We’ll save him.”

And somehow, this time Sougo could believe him.

***

A few hours later, Sougo had cooled his head off and was ready to act. He didn’t even know how it went with their manager and Banri, but it seemed they were still debating about it in the living room. He could hear a very animated discussion and some quiet sobbing from time to time.

The kidnapper did a huge mistake: he used Tamaki’s phone to communicate with Sougo, and Iori earlier in the day. Which meant one very important thing. Even if they did turn off the phone in between, there was still moments when it was on. And it was possible to track the GPS of that phone, if they were lucky enough. Nagi contacted a policewoman he apparently encountered a very long time ago (they were still going on with that Tokyo Tower terrorist attack…. He probably got her number from flirting with her though, thought Sougo) and under pretend of needing to find a friend that got lost, actually got her to locate Tamaki’s phone. Nagi just gave him the address half an hour ago. Their manager actually forbid them all to do anything on their own when she heard the story, but they were now in a very heated argument about the next step. What would the kidnappers do if they saw or heard the police coming? Sougo wasn’t willing to take that chance.

He waited a bit in the hallway to make sure no one heard him, then silently slipped outside. His hands were shaking, but he was determined. He strengthened his grip on the bag he prepared earlier in his room.

Once outside, Sougo looked carefully around him. Ok, the path seemed clear. Now he just had to—

“Took you long enough, Sougo!”

“AAH”

He couldn’t help but let out a small scream and jump when he heard Nagi. So much for being careful and unnoticed… He tried to speak in a hushed voice.

“Nagi-kun! What are you doing here?!”

“Me? I was waiting for you, _of course_. I’m not about to let an inexperienced young man go and try something reckless on its own.”

“Nagi-kun…. I appreciate the feeling but don’t try to stop me, please. I need to do something and—”

“Oh _no_. I’m not here to stop you. I’m here to go with you.”

“Wha—”

“First. You can’t go alone, it is way too dangerous. Two. We can’t go as a bigger group, because we would make too much noise and surely be noticed. Third. I cannot sit and wait either, nor can I ever forgive them for what they’ve done to a dear member of our group. And fourth... I have the most knowledge when it comes to kidnappings of us all.”

Sougo was mostly relieved Nagi wasn’t trying to stop him, but also thankful for the help. He was actually so scared of going there alone and barely had a plan beside “Finding Tamaki – getting out with him”. This was so unlike him to rush like this without a careful planning…. but he thought he could make one on the way. Reaching the address Nagi gave him would take a while, it was not close at all. On the other hand, Nagi seemed to be ready to face any possibilities. He was wearing mostly dark and plain clothes as no to stand out too much since it was now very late at night, and a hat covering part of his blond hair.

“Here. Put that on, and let’s go.”

Nagi tossed him another hat and then made way toward the nearest subway station. They actually had to reach a busier place so they could take a taxi for part of the way, before finishing on foot. According to that policewoman GPS localisation, Tamaki’s phone was apparently in an old house outside of the town. Sougo checked a map and already decided on a location a few kilometres away where it would be good and not suspicious to be dropped off. Apparently Nagi got to the same idea, and under the pretend of talking about a game if they came close to anyone, they worked on their plan a bit more.

Their main concern was if Tamaki’s phone was actually in the same place as he was held. The group could have split, as there appeared to be at least 3 persons working together, but Sougo was hoping they wouldn’t go as far. They really didn’t seem to be “professional”, thanks god for them. So far, Sougo has gotten two texts from the kidnappers, both sent from Tamaki’s phone, asking him to “get the money ready in bills”, and then a reminder “not to warn the police” that came with a photo. He almost crushed his phone when he saw it, and carefully packed some of the tools inside his bag while thinking of it. Tamaki didn’t seem conscious on that last photo, but at least he didn’t seem further hurt either. And if they could send pictures, then hopefully the phone and Tamaki were not too far apart.

***

By the time the taxi dropped them off, it was already closer to dawn than Sougo had hoped for. He and Nagi were hoping for the kidnappers to be either sleeping or too tired to be properly on their guard, but if they lost too much time reaching the location, they would lose this advantage.

Neither of them got any contact from the rest of the group or their managers who, Sougo hoped, probably thought they were both asleep. This wouldn’t last long once the morning came either. Without speaking, both of them hurried up.

The building was in a former business area that lost its appeal and now was mostly a residential one with a lot of closed buildings and houses here and there. It was quiet and you didn’t have a lot of passers-by, but it wasn’t lost in the middle of nowhere either.

Once they made sure which building was the one they were looking for, they carefully checked all its entrances and windows. Thanks for them, it wasn’t very big as it only had 2 floors, and they could see a light on by one of the windows of the first floor. It indeed looked like an old house. Nothing was moving otherwise, and after 20 minutes of wait they decided to act. Better moving before the sun was completely up, or they would just looks like burglars and it could be a real problem in this not-so-desert neighborhood.

“Sougo--! Here!”

Nagi was very quietly gesturing him over after finding an opened windows in the back. The room was pitched black otherwise, but after using their flashlight they could see it was empty.

“Good job Nagi-kun!” he whispered. The blond man gave him a thumbs-up before offering his hand as a stepladder so he could entered through the windows.

Once in, they very slowly walked up to the door and listened to it for a few minutes. Not a sound could be heard. Well, aside from the sound of his own heart ready to burst out, thought Sougo. It was actually hard to think no one else could hear it, because it seemed so noisy to him. Carefully and very slowly, he tried to open the door but nothing happened.

“-!! The door is closed…”

Damn. This was too good to be true… The kidnappers probably didn’t check the window just because the stupid door was closed in the first place. Should he get his—

But before he had time to do anything, Nagi got on his knees and started to pick the lock. Under a matter of seconds, the door opened with a soft click.

“Nagi-kun!! How??”

With a sad smile Nagi gave him a wink.

“Let’s just say I got intensive lessons during my childhood in the likelihood of a kidnapping. Picking locks is actually very easy and one of the first things you learn to do.”

There was so many thing Sougo wanted to ask him at this moment, but it was neither the time nor the place for that. This would have to do for now. He just was really thankful Nagi was with him. His own way of opening doors was way, way noisier. Once the door open, they listened some more but the only sound they could hear was from the first floor, where they saw the light on earlier. Apparently someone was listening to some TV program, but the sound was very low in the first place and nothing else could be heard.

The two idols already talked about this possibility before: first, they would check the others rooms for Tamaki, then only they would go near noises. It didn’t take them long to check the other two rooms of the floor: one was the kitchen, unlocked and empty but for a couple of bento boxes in the trashcan, and the other was locked but empty as well once Nagi made his way in. No choice but to go up now. Sougo took a bokken out of his bag and tightened his grip around it. Nagi arched an eyebrow at the weapon, but said nothing. They were about to meet armed guys, and Sougo felt safer with a weapon, even if just a wooden sword. He didn’t know close combat anyway.

Making their way up the stairs, stopping at every step to listen for any potential change in behaviour or suspicious sounds from who was there, they reached the lit room. Someone was sitting in a chair, showing their back to them. They quickly hid behind the furniture that was right at the end of the stairs and eagerly waited until they were sure he didn’t hear them. Sougo left a short sight out, not realizing he stopped breathing for a short while. Apparently they were safe so far. Only one man could be seen in what appeared to be the living-room though, watching something on his phone and laughing from time to time. You could see a black ski mask and a couple of cell phones on the table next to him, as well as a knife and another bento box. It wasn’t Tamaki’s father, but there was no doubt it was one of their guys. No Tamaki in sight though, and only two doors could be seen. As one was the bathroom, and it was unlikely they would keep someone in that, it only left one possibility of where he could be. With a dreading feeling, Sougo realized his partner might just not be there at all. One of the cell-phones on the table was undoubtedly Tamaki’s, but nothing else could let you think there were more than one person in this house.

Still. They had to check that last room on the other side of the floor – and ask that guy for more information. Sougo remembered that last picture they sent him, and his resolve strengthen. Yeah, they would have to pay anyway.

Right at this moment, the phone of the mysterious man rang. Sougo almost let out of a scream of surprise, but prevented himself at the last moment. His heart was racing so much, he didn’t expect that timing… and apparently neither did the man, which grumbled he had to stop his show for that.

“What?”

They actually were close enough to hear the voice of the person calling as well – Tamaki-kun’s father!

“Why do you sound so annoyed?”

“Why you ask? Maybe because I had to stay alone at this stupid house on my own for no reason…. This is so boring, I think I might die of boredom before we get any money.”

“Told you before why we had to split up. It’s safer this way, I don’t want to risk anything. And someone need to check the area where we’ll get the money to make sure it’s safe. Are you monitoring the area every hours like you’re supposed to?”

“Geez, this is way too early for that… but yeah, yeah I do”, he answered while looking at the unused spectacles on the table.

He obviously wasn’t, but neither of the two members would complain about it. Sougo was now sure Tamaki wasn’t there, but they needed more information about his actual location, and hopefully this call could give it to him.

“I’m sending you another message right now. You can send it if you get a reply from him, otherwise send it in about 12 hours. I’d actually like to get our money faster if I can… Waiting a week is such a bother.”

The guy scoffed at these words. “Try waiting alone in a house!”

“Don’t make me laugh! Try taking care of that useless brat…. He’s better get me my money and be worth the trouble. Nothing but trouble since he’s born, that one… We even gave up on giving him food or water after the first time, it was too annoying… so his friend is better be quick.”

That made the other guy laugh. “Woah, what a father you are! Anyway, as long as I get my share I don’t care. And the quicker the better for me anyway. Ah, got your message! I’ll do as you told me.”

“Good. Contact me if anything else arise, otherwise the next call will be in 10 hours.”

“Got it.”

On this, the guy let out a big sight and went back to watch his show on his phone. Sougo looked at Nagi with the question in his eyes, and the blond guy nodded. Not much of a choice anymore, they couldn’t just leave like they came in now. Not without more information.

Nagi rose and very quickly and silently slipped behind the man. Finally hearing the movement over his video’s noise, the man turned around and dropped his phone while reaching for the knife in an instinctive reaction, but Nagi was too fast. He swiftly hit his neck and the man fell back motionless on the chair.

“Quick, Sougo. We need to restraint him before he wakes up. It won’t last long.”

Nodding, he silently helped setting the guy on the couch and binding his arms and legs. What were they going to do? They definitely had to call the police after that, but wouldn’t it prevent them to continue looking for Tamaki..?

He didn’t have that much time to plan before the kidnapper associate came to himself again. He looked in his fifties and with too much alcohol in the blood over the years. Probably just a drinking buddy of Tamaki’s father in the first place.

In the second he opened his eyes, Sougo dropped his bokken only a millimeter away from his ear.

“—hiii!”

“Talk.” If a stare could kill someone, this man would already be dead. “You have one minute to tell us where Tamaki-kun is, or the next one is on your ear.” He started to raise his bokken again and got ready to drop it again any second.

“Wha—! I don’t know! I don’t know ok? I just keep watch here!”

The bokken came down fiercely and actually grazed his ear this time, even if it didn’t actually hit him – yet. Without even saying anything, Sougo raise the bokken again.

“OWW! OK ok, I’ll tell you! Man, you are crazy.”

To the man surprise and relief, Sougo actually put the bokken down.  But only to pick up the knife that was still on the table. The relief was short-lived.

“Ok so now you’ll tell me where Tamaki-kun is. Or else.”

“O-or else…?”

“Do you really want to know?”

With a loud sigh and a small shriek, the man gave up. Man, this youngster was downright scary. Wasn’t he the other member of that group? What the hell with idols these days???? I mean, the first one already gave them trouble when they kidnapped him in the first place with his height and strength, his knee still hurt like hell thank you very much, and now this one looked like he would have no problem slicing him up in half. He didn’t feel like protecting the others in the first place, and things were probably over for him as the blond one looked like he was calling the police. Better speak up and hope for some leniency, maybe?

“OK, OK! We’re keeping the other one in another location. It’s on the other side of the town. The address… I must have it on my phone.”

Nagi immediately picked it up. After a minute, they indeed had the address, and Sougo was more than ready to move. Tamaki was waiting, he didn’t have time to waste. He went back to the man on the couch, and without saying a word just stabbed the couch with the knife so close to his right ear that he could feel it.

“—HIII”

“You’d better telling us the truth, or you won’t be happy when I’m back. OK?”

“Y-y-yes…”

Without saying anything, Nagi got behind the couch and knocked him out again, this time with the intention to make it last a few hours. He didn’t plan for Sougo to handle the talking and got a bit scared for a moment, but thankfully things didn’t escalate too much.

An hour later, they were in a taxi in the direction of their next location. Sougo’s stress finally had the better of him and he was napping on Nagi’s shoulder. He would resent himself for even daring to fall asleep in the first place later, but Nagi thought he needed it too much to wake him up. They left the kidnapper passed out on the couch and took all the cell phones and means of communication they could find in the house before leaving. Nagi could see many missed calls on his own phone from their other group members and their manager now, and could only imagine how upset they were to find out they were both gone. It was painful for him to keep things from them – after telling them so many times not to do it themselves. But it was better this way, this was way too dangerous. If he could he would have avoided bringing Sougo as well, but there was no doubt his elder would have gone alone on his side as well otherwise, so it was for the best.

He just wanted to bring back Tamaki as soon as possible and avoid any violence if the situation allowed it. He never expected all his training regarding kidnappings to be used during his stay in Japan, even less to encounter a new one, but at least he knew he could be helpful to his group. He lived through three kidnappings himself, so he knew exactly what to expect or how to react.

His phone discreetly vibrated again. Another text message from Mitsuki… He seemed furious according to the stickers he kept sending him. Of course the Izumi elder would have wanted to come as well. He might not even know what they were doing exactly, but he could guess quite easily and was furious to be left behind. He was the first one to suggest settling things themselves, after all.  Nagi wished he could have avoided to hurt his friend, but this was the one time strength was not in numbers. Yamato probably wasn’t much happier, even if as the eldest of the group he would feel obligated to prioritize everyone’s safety. But deep down he would be the exact same. He was losing his composure quicker than you could believe when it came to his friends, and especially the kids of the group. But as soon as Nagi and Sougo absence became obvious, Takanashi Production probably made sure no one else would be able to leave on its own.

“Mitsuki, we are OK. Don’t worry. We’ll be back soon. We are very careful.

Sorry.”

He hit “sent” and then immediately turned off his phone. More calls would follow and he wouldn’t be able to answer them anyway. Gently, he woke Sougo up so he could be fully operational for what was to come.

As expected, Sougo kept pestering himself for falling asleep. However, he couldn’t deny he felt more rested and less nervous than before. He was ready for anything.

Sougo didn’t say anything else but Nagi noticed his eyes getting darker and deadlier.  He made a mental note to keep a closer check on the MEZZO’’ member this time.

***

They arrived to the new location by the beginning of the afternoon. They didn’t take any risk and preferred to walk over more kilometers to be sure they wouldn’t be seen. This time, the building seemed to be an old deserted warehouse. Sougo couldn’t help but think how cliché this was… but at least the area didn’t have much traffic, so it was easier to avoid people and not look too suspicious. Their clothing was plain enough as not to stand out, but the dark colors didn’t help them anymore now that it was the day so they had to be extra careful.

They monitored the building once again but couldn’t see anyone getting in and out for a long time. They were about to go in when a car arrived and parked in front of the main entrance. Hiding behind some bushes, they saw a guy about the same age of Tamaki’s father get out and enter the building with was looked like groceries supplies. If they had the right location, he could be the third person they were expecting to find.

Sneaking out to the back of the building for their second time today, Nagi found a broken windows this time and they managed to get inside without too much problems or noise. However, the place being much bigger this time, looking for someone would take much longer as well… They had to be extra careful. They started to check every room they found, but for the first half hour they couldn’t find anything. So they reluctantly started going toward the noise they could hear.

This is where they finally saw him. Tamaki’s father. He was sitting at a table with the other guy they saw entering earlier, and they were eating some bentos. A gun was right next to his hand, as well as some keys, three ski masks and lots of empty beer cans.

“Still no news from Takeru?”

Tamaki’s father checked his cell phone.

“No… he probably didn’t get any answer yet. Geez, how long will it take for them to react?! Are they even considering to pay?”

“I better hope so! We did not go through all this trouble for nothing.”

“This useless son…… maybe he’s not even worth anything as a friend.”

Sougo moved so fast, Nagi barely caught him in time. Where did he get this hammer?! They needed to act fast but—

“Well. Who do we have here?”

The two old men immediately stood up from their chairs and both idols turned toward the voice they heard. Behind them was a third man they didn’t see or hear before, pointing a gun at them.

“ _SHIT_. I miscalculated their number... Sorry Sougo…”

Nagi tried to assert the situation as quickly as possible. The gun on the table behind them was still lying there untouched. Tamaki’s father drew out a knife, but the other guy was still only holding his chopsticks. As expected, neither of the men here were holding their weapon correctly. There was their chance! No, Nagi was more scared about Sougo right now. When the young man moved earlier, it was with a net killing intent that made him shiver.

“How did you find us?!” yelled Tamaki’s father.

“Where is Tamaki-kun? Tell us where he is RIGHT NOW.” Sougo’s voice was steady but you could feel his anger building up.

“Tamaki? Did you bring the money? If you have the money then—“

“Are you stupid or what? They saw our faces, idiot! Even if they have the money we can’t just let them leave now!”

There! Their chance! The last man was still aiming at them with his gun, but his attention was on his two accomplices behind them. And these two were busier arguing than following their movement. “Sorry Sougo!” whispered the blond man before pushing him hard enough to make him fall on the floor.

“Wha--?!”

Following that, Nagi quickly dived toward the third man now looking at Sougo and kicked the gun from his hand with his right foot before rolling on the floor and snatching the gun.

“An amateur shouldn’t be holding a gun. It’s dangerous, you could hurt yourself!”

“You stupid kid…!”

“Thanks god, I’m no amateur.” added Nagi, before taking the safety out. “Now you stop right now, or I shoot. Sougo—“

But Sougo also acted quickly. Without waiting, he recovered fast from Nagi’s sudden push and scrambled to his foot to rush to Tamaki’s father, after picking up something else from his bag. The old man frankly tried to attack him with the knife, but his movements being messy because of years of excessive alcohol drinking allowed Sougo to easily block him with the hammer, before managing to forcefully hit his hand. The knife dropped on the floor with a huge noise and Tamaki’s father started screaming while holding his broken hand.

“AAH! Bastard, what did you do- !!”

As fast as lightning, Sougo closed up on him and made him fall back into the chair. Not even paying attention to the other guy on his left, the MEZZO’’ member raised his hammer in the right hand and an electronic screwdriver in the left one.

“Where. Is. Tamaki-kun.”

Where the hell did he got a screwdriver from?! thought Nagi. He needed to act fast. No time for chitchat. Using his hand holding the gun, he knocked the third guy out. He fell on the floor with a grunt, but Nagi didn’t stop to check and ran to the second guy that was trying to discreetly move away from the scene – and Sougo especially. Not much of a fighter apparently. Shooting a warning shot on the wall behind him did the trick and the man stumbled to the floor with a pathetic scream.

“Don’t-- don’t shoot!! I’ll tell you where he is! Hii-“

“OK. Talk quickly then.”

“He’s… he’s in the room on the first floor. The one with the green door and—and a lock on it.”

“The key?”

“The key is on the-- the table!”

“ _Thank you_.” Added Nagi before knocking him out as well.

Just as he turned back to Sougo and Tamaki’s father, he saw the old man becoming whiter than a piece of paper. Having set up the screwdriver on the table, Sougo was holding him by the collar and raised his hammer again. Nagi caught his arm seconds before he slammed it down.

“Sougo _NO_!”

The young man had the deadliest stare he ever saw him made, and for a second he didn’t recognize his friend.

“Sougo, _NO_. It’s OK. We know where he is.”

“He hurt Tamaki-kun. He made his life miserable and now he hurt him again! I can’t let him hurt him ever again---“

“Do you think Tamaki would be happy if you hurt his father then?”

Nagi was talking slowly and in a soothing voice. He was still holding Sougo’s arm and he could feel his friend trying to break free, his grip still firmly around the hammer.

“He sure would be happier without him in his life. This man doesn’t even deserve to be called his father. Tamaki-kun is nothing like him!”

He almost spit these words.

“Sougo. Go to Tamaki. Go free him. Here, the keys.” Nagi gently lowered his arm, and after tucking the gun in the back of his pants picked the keys that seemed the most likely to be the lock’s and showed them to Sougo. Having to let go of something, he finally released the old man collar before picking the keys.

“Go. He’s waiting.”

At long last, Sougo broke his movement and put the hammer on the table, before running to the room supposedly holding Tamaki. Nagi and the kidnapper let out a big sigh at the same time. However, the blond man immediately shot him a dark look.

“ _Oh no_. Don’t you think you’re out of trouble for what you’ve done. I have some questions for you.”

***

When Sougo arrived in front of the room, he was back to his nervous self. His hands were shaking slightly as he was trying the different keys to open the big lock. After the third key he was seriously wondering if using his screwdriver wouldn’t have been faster – that’s why he brought it in the first place. He couldn't pick locks like Nagi did – when he finally heard the clicking noise telling him he succeeded. He opened the door brusquely and stepped inside.

“Tamaki-kun!!”

It was pitch black, he could barely see anything. And he left his bag with the flashlight behind. He pushed the door wide open to get some more light, and finally was able to make out some things. Tamaki was there, lying on the floor in the back of the room. His hands and feet were bound by shackles, and he was still gagged with some clothes, just like on that last picture they sent him. He didn’t seem conscious, as he didn’t react to Sougo’s presence.

“TAMAKI-KUN! Are you ok? Tama—Tamaki, talks to me!”

Sougo kneeled next to his friend and gently took him in his arms. He loosened the gag immediately but he needed to get the keys back first to free his hands and feet. Tamaki’s hair and face were messy, but other than that he didn’t seem hurt in anyway. So why was he not reacting? Putting his hand on his forehead, he checked his temperature. He was so hot! A fever?

“Sou…chan?”

“! Tamaki-kun! Tamaki-kun, are you ok? Are you hurting somewhere?”

“Sou-chan…. You came…”

The boy managed a weak smile but fell unconscious again.

“Of course! Let’s get you out of here.”

Sougo rushed back to the keys and fiddled with them until he could finally set him free. Then he tried to lift him, but this proven to be difficult at his partner was much heavier than he was. With a big relief, that’s when Nagi joined him and proceeded to carry Tamaki.

“What happened to him?” he asked with concern.

“I’m not sure but he seems to have a small fever… it could be the lack of food, or maybe he got sick. Either way, we need to go to a hospital quickly!”

Nagi nodded. “Let’s hurry. I made sure there is no one else we overlooked this time, and I restrained everyone.”

“Nagicchi..?”

“Tamaki-kun!’

“Tamaki! Welcome back. We’re almost out of here. How are you feeling?”

“S-spinning… and bright…… thirsty”

“That’s probably the fever. We’ll get you to a doctor Tamaki-kun, don’t worry!”

“Nagicchi… so cool…”

The young boy seemed a bit delirious and kept spacing out after a couple of words.

As soon as they stepped outside, they realized their mistake. It would take forever to reach an area where they could call a taxi. The kidnappers' car was still park right next to them, but of course neither of them had the keys. Sougo thought about going back inside to look for them, but he had this visceral need to get away from this place as soon as possible. In the end they decided against it. That might be too dangerous anyway, and Nagi didn't think Sougo was in any condition to drive at the moment.

They barely did a few dozen meters before they heard a noisy honking that made Sougo's heart skip a beat.

“THEY’RE HERE! TAMAKI’S HERE TOO!”

“?! Mitsuki?!”

A car caught up to them and brutally stopped. Mitsuki jumped down from the passenger seat and proceeded to open them the back door.

“NAGI!! YOU’RE IN A LOT OF TROUBLE! But more important, is Tamaki alright? Are you all alright?

“We need to get him to the hospital as soon as possible. But I-I don’t think he’s badly hurt.” Sougo answered.

“Ok, I have the address of the nearest hospital.” Added Yamato, the driver. “Mitsu, close the doors, we’re going.”

“Mitsuki—“

“Not now Nagi. I’m still mad at you. Though I’m relieved you’re safe. Idiots, both of you! You could have told us!! You’re in sooo much trouble!”

“Just like we are, Mitsu… Should I remind you we used Riku as a diversion to slip out when we were forbidden to even think about it?”

“Yamato-san, how did you find us?”

“Same way as you, I guess. We tried to locate your phone and Nagi’s. Took a while though, we didn’t get a signal until the middle of the day and then it took forever to drive there. Mitsu was worried sick about you guys and Tama.”

“And upset.”

“And upset. I am too, by the way. But mostly worried. You have no idea how worried we all were Sou…”

“I am really sorry…”

Nagi was keeping quiet but you could see how sorry he was as well on his face.

“Aaah ok. Stop making this face Nagi. I can’t stand seeing you look so sad. Just promise me you’ll never ever EVER do it again. And you too Sougo!!”

“..Yes!!” both of them answered at the same time. They knew they wouldn’t be let go that easy by their manager though. That part was going to be scary and hard.

The rest of the drive was in silence. Mitsuki actually cried a bit but everyone purposely acted like it didn’t happen. Nagi allowed himself to doze off a bit, and Sougo kept stroking Tamaki’s hair that was sleeping on his laps. His fever still seemed high, as far as Sougo could tell, but he seemed calmer and actually sleeping instead of being delirious.

***

Iori and Tsumugi closed the door of the room quietly and went back to the group waiting in the front.

“They’re both sleeping. Yotsuba-san is stable, his fever should be getting down starting now. He’s not hurt otherwise.”

A general sigh of relief met his words.

“As for Ousaka-san, he just wouldn’t leave and ended up falling asleep on the chair next to him. We thought it was better to just leave him. For now, the nurse told us to let him… them sleep, and to avoid any more visits until Yotsuba-san wakes up.”

Everyone grunted, but it made sense and they were mostly just happy everyone was fine. They went back to the waiting room and left the two MEZZO’’ members sleep peacefully.

A few hours later, Sougo that was half lying on the bed woke up feeling Tamaki stir up in his sleep.

“Hn… Tamaki-kun?”

He looked like he was having a nightmare, so Sougo hesitantly took his hand, but the young man woke up with a start.

“Aah! ...whe-where am I? s-so dark….”

Sougo suddenly realized that the night fell while they were sleeping, and he forgot to turn on a light before falling asleep. He immediately did so.

“Tamaki-kun! You’re safe, don’t worry.”

The panic in his eyes gave way to relief as soon as the light turned on and he saw Sougo.

“SOU-CHAN!”

Tamaki threw his arms around him and hugged him tightly, burying his face into his shirt. The sudden hug took him by surprise, but Sougo immediately hugged him back.

“Sou-chan! You came! It wasn’t a dream!”

“Yes I’m here, Tamaki-kun. You’re safe now. Don’t worry. I’m sorry I took so long…”

“It was so scary… I… I was s-so s-scared…”

Sougo couldn’t see his face but he could feel Tamaki crying softly. He patted him on the back for a few minutes, until he felt his friend calming down. The hug broke down, and they finally looked at each other.

“Ah, Sou-chan…! You’re crying?!”

“Wha-… yeah I’m crying, haha. I’m just really glad you’re ok Tamaki-kun. I was so scared for you..!”

“I was scared too… so, so scared.” Tamaki shook his head. “But, I knew Sou-chan would come. So I did my best and I waited. Not that I could do much more anyway…”

“Tamaki-kun…”

“I was just hoping you wouldn’t arrive throwing computers at everyone or something, you know. But I guess that I knew that Sou-chan would come. And scare the bad guys away. Hopefully without killing anyone... Nagicchi was a surprise though! But he was so cool.”

“Ahaha. Yeah he was. I wouldn’t have been able to anything on my own.”

Sougo wiped some more tears and suddenly hugged Tamaki. He was just so glad his partner was ok.

This time, it was Tamaki’s turn to be surprised but hugged him back right away. He tried so hard before with Riku to make Sougo cry, and even if he wouldn’t never officially say it he was kinda glad that his first tears were for him.

“Sou-chan—I can’t breath— “

“Ah, I’m so sorry! Are you ok? Do you want to drink something? Do you want a pudding?”

You usually send fruits to people in hospital in Japan, but everyone actually sent Ousama Pudding to Tamaki instead. TRIGGER even went out of their way and sent limited edition pudding. Most of it was brought back to the dorm because of the lack of a fridge in the room, but they kept a few bottles in case Tamaki woke up.

“Pudding? Seriously? You have some? Yay!! Sou-chan’s the best--!”

Hearing these words Sougo couldn’t help but blush. “It’s from everyone! Even TRIGGER and Re:vale sent some, but they’re waiting at home for you.” He handed him one.

“Aah, when can I go back?”

“The doctor said in a couple of days. As soon as you’re back to full health, but you need to rest first. Your fever is down but it's not completely gone yet, and they need to do some more check up.”

“Hmm—as long as I have pudding… I guess no homework is cool, too. But I want to dance and move. Not being able to move for 2 days was—…”

Tamaki seemed livelier and his usual self now, but you could see he was still really shaken up by the experience.

“Tamaki-kun… do you want to talk about it? What happened exactly?”

“Hm… it was dark… and I was so hungry… I couldn’t move… at first I was so mad! But then they waved all these knives and I was so scared. I don’t like knives… especially close to me… right Sou-chan… but then they kept making threats, like, “if you don’t behave we’ll kill you and take you sister the next time!”…! Aya is safe, right Sou-chan??”

“Yeah, yeah she is don’t worry. Nothing can happen to her. Kujou-san personally told us he’d watch over her.”

“…Ok, I’ll trust Tenten then.”

Tamaki sighed and continued his story.

“Then I was alone for like, forever. It was dark, I couldn’t see anything it was horrible… and I couldn’t move or speak… I was so hungry I could have eaten even your red food..... It was so… lonely… I hated it… it kinda reminded me of before, you know? Before I met all of you guys.”

“Tamaki-kun…”

“If this happened before, I think I would have gone crazy. Because, you see, I knew Sou-chan would come. But before, I didn’t have Sou-chan, or Nagicchi, or anyone… so I would probably just have stayed alone. No one would have known… That’s so scary. I could have died there and no one would have known.”

Tamaki raised his head and finally showed him a grin.

“I’m really glad you found me. Thank you Sou-chan!”

FIN

**Author's Note:**

> I actually think Sougo and Nagi can drive, would it be for acting purpose, but I decided to ignore it for story purpose (not that it changes much in the end because I kinda dropped the part it was supposed to be useful, haha). I originally debated at lot whether they could drive or not because rich people are usual drove around so...  
> EDIT so I got a confirmation today (like, 8 months after I wrote this fic LOL) that Sougo can drive, so I edited it slightly because it was bothering me too much otherwise xD
> 
> Also yes I truly believe NAGI IS JUST AS COOL AS I WROTE HIM!! Don't let his otaku side fools you.
> 
> I realized reading it again that I wrote a LOT of “without thinking” for Sougo, when I believe he’s the kind to plan/overthink EVERYTHING so I have mixed feelings about it, but it’s too late now that’s how it wrote itself (not my fault).
> 
> As for the resolution of the story, it wasn’t worth writing but: Takanashi Pro called the policewoman one last time and explain everything, so they could arrest everyone discreetly without it being all over the news. Tamaki never knew it was his father, who teamed up with broken drinking buddies so he could show himself as little as possible in front of his son and not be recognized. I’m really not sure if the others told him the truth or not. Probably did, but not right away.


End file.
